Shenandoah Valley campaigns of 1864
Part of theAmerican Civil War
Funkhoser House and Farm, Toms Brook, Shenandoah County, Virginia
Date May–October, 1864 Location Shenandoah Valley, Virginia Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States of America	Confederate States of America
Commanders and leaders
Franz Sigel David Hunter Lew Wallace George Crook Philip Sheridan	John C. Breckinridge Jubal A. Early
Units involved
Department of West Virginia (June 1864) VIII Corps (detachment) &VI Corps (detachment) (June-July 1864) Defenses of the Potomac River & Washington (Mid July - August 1, 1864) Army of West Virginia Army of the Shenandoah (August 1, 1864 – June 27, 1865)	Department of Western Virginia Army of the Valley
Strength
8,500 (June 1864) 5,800 (early July 1864) 9,600 (Mid-July 1864) 40,000 (August-October 1864)	5,000 (June 1864) 14,000 (June-July) 21,100 (October 1864)
Casualties and losses
18,400	17,300

TheValley campaigns of 1864 began as operations initiated by Union Lieutenant GeneralUlysses S. Grant and resulting battles that took place in theShenandoah Valley ofVirginia during theAmerican Civil War from May to October 1864. Some military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns. This article considers them together, as the campaigns interacted and built upon one another.

As 1864 began,Ulysses S. Grant was promoted tolieutenant general and given command of allUnion armies. He chose to make his headquarters with theArmy of the Potomac, althoughMaj. Gen.George G. Meade remained the commander of that army. Grant kept Maj. Gen.William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the Western armies. Grant understood the concept oftotal war and believed, as did Sherman andPresidentAbraham Lincoln, that only the utter defeat ofConfederate forces and their economic base would bring the Civil War to an end. He determined to usescorched earth tactics in some important theaters.^{[citation needed]}

Grant devised a coordinated strategy that would strike at the heart of the Confederacy from multiple directions: he would join with Meade and Maj. Gen.Benjamin Butler to fight againstRobert E. Lee'sArmy of Northern Virginia nearRichmond; Maj. Gen.Franz Sigel would invade the Shenandoah Valley and destroy Lee's supply lines; Maj. Gen. Sherman would attackJoseph E. Johnston'sArmy of Tennessee, invadeGeorgia and captureAtlanta; and finally Maj. Gen.Nathaniel P. Banks was assigned to captureMobile, Alabama, an important port on the Gulf Coast.^{[citation needed]}

The first campaign started with Grant's planned invasion of the Shenandoah Valley from the Department ofWest Virginia, which Gen. Sigel commanded. West Virginia had been created by the Federal government as a Union state in 1863, but many of the Confederate troops defending the Valley had been recruited in the new state.^[1] Grant ordered Sigel to move "up the Valley" (i.e., southwest to the higher elevations) with 10,000 men to destroy the Confederate railroad, hospital and supply center atLynchburg, Virginia.

Sigel was intercepted and defeated by 4,000 troops and cadets from theVirginia Military Institute under Confederate Maj. Gen.John C. Breckinridge. His forces retreated toStrasburg, Virginia. Maj. Gen.David Hunter replaced Sigel. As discussed below he initiated another strike to the south, eventually burning VMI in retaliation for the Jones-Imboden Raid as well as subsequent actions of VMI cadets.^[2]

Hunter resumed the Union offensive and defeatedWilliam E. "Grumble" Jones at the Battle of the Piedmont. Jones died in the battle, and Hunter occupiedStaunton, Virginia.^[3]

On June 11 Hunter, who had continued to strike southward, fought atLexington againstJohn McCausland's Confederate cavalry, which retreated to the mountains aroundBuchanan. Hunter ordered Col.Alfred N. Duffié's cavalry division to join him in Lexington. While awaiting their arrival, Union forces burned formerGovernorJohn Letcher's home, in addition to shelling and burning the Virginia Military Institute. They seized the statue of George Washington,^[4] and nearly destroyed the campus. (VMI moved its classes to theRichmond Alms House).^[5]

Joined by Duffié on June 13, Hunter sent Averell to drive McCausland out of Buchanan and capture theJames River bridge. But McCausland burned the bridge and fled. Hunter joined GeneralWilliam Averell in Buchanan on June 14 and on June 15 advanced via the road between thePeaks of Otter to occupyLiberty that evening. Meanwhile, Confederate Maj. Gen.John C. Breckinridge sent Brig. Gen.John D. Imboden and his cavalry to join McCausland. Breckinridge arrived in Lynchburg the next day. Maj. Gen.Daniel Harvey Hill and Brig. Gen.Harry T. Hays constructed a defense line in the hills just southwest of the city. When McCausland fell back, Averell's cavalry pursued, engaging in the afternoonSkirmish at New London Academy.^[6] Union forces launched another attack on McCausland and Imboden that evening, and the Confederates retreated from New London.

Confederate Gen.Jubal A. Early and his troops arrived in Lynchburg on June 17 at 1 p.m. Although Hunter had planned to destroy railroads and hospitals in Lynchburg, and theJames River Canal, when Early's initial units arrived, Hunter thought his forces outnumbered. Hunter, short on supplies, retreated back through West Virginia.^[7]

Commanding General Robert E. Lee was concerned about Hunter's advances in the Valley, which threatened critical railroad lines and provisions for the Virginia-based Confederate forces. He sent Jubal Early's corps to sweep Union forces from the Valley and, if possible, to menaceWashington, D.C., hoping to compel Grant to dilute his forces against Lee aroundPetersburg, Virginia. Early was operating in the same area where ConfederateThomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson had conducted his successful 1862Valley campaign. Early got off to a good start. He drove downriver through the Valley without opposition, bypassedHarpers Ferry, crossed thePotomac River, and advanced into Maryland. Grant dispatched a corps underHoratio G. Wright and other troops underGeorge Crook to reinforce Washington and pursue Early.

Early defeated a smaller force underLew Wallace nearFrederick, Maryland. This battle delayed his progress enough to allow the Union time to reinforce the defenses of Washington.^[8]

Early attacked a fort on the northwest defensive perimeter of Washington without success and withdrew across the Potomac to Virginia.^[9]

Union cavalry attacked Early's supply trains at Purcellville as the Confederates withdrew across theLoudoun Valley toward theBlue Ridge Mountains. Several small cavalry skirmishes occurred throughout the day as the Federals attempted to harass Early's column.^[10]

Also known as Snicker's Ferry

Early attacked and repulsed pursuing Union forces under Wright.^[11]

A Union division attacked a Confederate division underStephen Dodson Ramseur and routed it. Early withdrew his army south to Fisher's Hill, nearStrasburg, Virginia.^[12]

Wright withdrew, thinking Early was no longer a threat. Early attacked him to prevent or delay his return to Grant's forces besieging Petersburg. Union troops were routed, streaming through the streets of Winchester. Early pursued and burnedChambersburg, Pennsylvania, along the way in retaliation for Hunter's previous destruction in the Valley.^[13]

Also known as the Battle of Cumberland

An inconclusive smallcavalry battle in Maryland.^[14]

Also known as the Battle of Oldfields

Confederate cavalry returning from the Chambersburg burning were surprised in the early morning and defeated by Union cavalry.^[15]

Grant finally lost patience with Hunter, particularly his allowing Early to burn Chambersburg, and knew that Washington remained vulnerable if Early was still on the loose. He found a new commander aggressive enough to defeat Early:Philip Sheridan, the cavalry commander of the Army of the Potomac, who was given command of all forces in the area, calling them theArmy of the Shenandoah. Sheridan initially started slowly, primarily because the impendingpresidential election of 1864 demanded a cautious approach, avoiding any disaster that might lead to the defeat of Abraham Lincoln.

Also known as Front Royal or Cedarville

Confederate forces underRichard H. Anderson were sent from Petersburg to reinforce Early. Brig. Gen.Wesley Merritt's Union cavalry division surprised the Confederate columns while they were crossing theShenandoah River, capturing about 300. The Confederates rallied and advanced, gradually pushing back Merritt's men to Cedarville. The battle was inconclusive.^[16]

Also known as Flowing Springs or Cameron's Depot

Early and Anderson struck Sheridan nearCharles Town, West Virginia. Sheridan conducted a fighting withdrawal.^[17]

Two Confederate divisions crossed Opequon Creek and forced a Union cavalry division back to Charles Town; the Confederate offensive against the city was repulsed and their advance permanently halted.^[18]

A minor engagement in which Early attempted to stop Sheridan's march up the Valley. Early withdrew to Opequon Creek when he realized he was in a poor position for attacking Sheridan's full force.^[19]

Also known as the Battle of Opequon

After learning fromQuaker UnionistRebecca Wright that Early had dispersed his forces to raid theB&O Railroad and had removed infantry and artillery from nearbyWinchester, Virginia (an important town and transportation center that changed hands 75 times in the war), Sheridan attacked Early's camp at Opequon Creek just outside the town. Sustaining ruinous casualties, Early retreated from what was the largest battle in all three of the Valley campaigns, taking up defensive positions at Fisher's Hill.^[20]

Sheridan hit Early in an early-morningflanking attack, routing the Confederates with moderate losses. Early retreated toWaynesboro, Virginia.^[21]

With Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman'scapture of Atlanta, Lincoln's re-election now seemed assured. Sheridan moved slowly down the Valley, conducting ascorched earth campaign that would presageSherman's March to the Sea in November. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding and supplying its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army ruthlessly burned crops, barns, mills, and factories.

As Early began a pursuit of Sheridan, Union cavalry routed two divisions of Confederate cavalry.^[22]

In a surprise attack, Early smashed two-thirds of the Union army, but his troops were hungry and exhausted and fell out of their ranks to pillage the Union camp. Sheridan, in a ride from Winchester, managed to rally his troops and utterly rout Early's men, and the Confederates lost everything they had gained in the morning. This victory helped Lincoln get re-elected.^[23]

After his missions of neutralizing Early and suppressing the Valley's military-related economy, Sheridan returned to assist Grant atPetersburg. Most of the men of Early's corps rejoined Lee at Petersburg in December, while Early remained in the Valley to command a skeleton force. He was defeated at theBattle of Waynesboro on March 2, 1865, after which Lee removed him from his command because the Confederate government and people had lost confidence in him.

• Field of Lost Shoes

Notes

Bibliography

• Gallagher, Gary W., ed.Struggle for the Shenandoah: Essays on the 1864 Valley Campaign. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1991.ISBN 0-87338-429-6.
• Patchan, Scott C.Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007.ISBN 978-0-8032-3754-4.
• National Park Service battle descriptions

Further reading

• Cooling, Benjamin Franklin.Jubal Early's Raid on Washington, 1864. Baltimore: Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1989.ISBN 0-933852-86-X.
• Davis, Daniel T., and Phillip S. Greenwalt.Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Emerging Civil War Series. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013.ISBN 978-1-61121-165-8.
• Early, Jubal A.,"General Jubal A. Early tells his story of his advance upon Washington, D.C.".Washington National Republican, 1864.
• Early, Jubal A.A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America. Edited by Gary W. Gallagher. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001.ISBN 1-57003-450-8.
• Gallagher, Gary W., ed.The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Military Campaigns of the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.ISBN 978-0-8078-3005-5.
• Janda, Lance. "Shutting the gates of mercy: The American origins of total war, 1860-1880."Journal of Military History 59#1 (1995): 7-26.online
• Lewis, Thomas A., and the Editors of Time-Life Books.The Shenandoah in Flames: The Valley Campaign of 1864. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1987.ISBN 0-8094-4784-3.
• Patchan, Scott C.The Last Battle of Winchester: Phil Sheridan, Jubal Early, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August 7–September 19, 1864. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013.ISBN 978-1-932714-98-2.

• Valley campaigns of 1864
• 1864 in the American Civil War
• Military operations of the American Civil War in Maryland
• Military operations of the American Civil War in Virginia
• Campaigns of the eastern theater of the American Civil War

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